A £14m Tyneside housing development has taken home top prize from one of the country’s most prestigious housing awards.

The Malings at Ouseburn Valley was named the supreme winner at the Housing Design Awards, three years after being named project of the year.

The Malings residents, Claire Harper and her partner James Perry who both work as architects moved to Newcastle from London last year.

Claire said: “We’d always hoped to move up to the North East but never quite found the incentive and in some ways the Malings was that.

“Living in the Ouseburn valley, the rehearsal rooms, the Tyne Bar, the scrap yard crane - all of them are unique to our little part of the world. And we have great neighbours too. Wherever we’ve lived before we’ve certainly never lived anywhere surrounded by so many people who genuinely love where they live.”

The 76-home development beat competition from across the country to take first prize, including many major schemes in London, Hampshire, Birmingham and Bath.

David Roberts, director at igloo said the award put the scheme on the national stage.

“We were attracted to the possibility of building new homes in the Ouseburn Valley, but recognised the challenges this would give us - industrial sites, gritty urban character, sensitive riverside ecology,” he said.

“Our approach is always the careful selection of architects working with the community and the result at The Malings has been homes that people love and a genuine contribution to this important part of Newcastle.”

The Malings development comprises 76 homes, ranging from one bedroom flats to four storey tower houses, all built to take advantage of natural light and be environmentally friendly.

Residents are encouraged to be environmentally friendly with bicycle storage spaces, micro allotments, systems to collect rainwater and areas for communal recycling on the site.

The creation of the Malings – on the site of the old Maling Pottery – is part of the revival of Newcastle’s Ouseburn Valley which now houses the city’s creative quarter in what was once a heavily industrialised area.

Pat Ritchie, chief executive of Newcastle City Council, said she was delighted the development had received such positive recognition.

She said: “The Ouseburn Valley has a strong sense of community and heritage, dating back to the start of the Industrial Revolution. We have built on this sense of history and community spirit to create attractive low energy, eco-friendly homes that meets the needs of our residents and supports the ongoing development of the area.”

The final 17 properties are due for completion in spring 2017, with only eight of the entire development left to sell.